How to report adverse events or injury following vaccination in Canada

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

Finally!

You stood up in a long line to get your vaccine, but you finally got it. First shot out the way. Two or three days later, you feel alright. A week passes by, and beside the soreness in your arm, everything is great. You make your appointment for your second dose, which is only a couple weeks away.

You go for your second dose, but this time, it is a little different. Two or three days later, you notice that your heart is beating much faster than usual. You start to feel pains in your chest, maybe even severe abdominal pain. You also notice that you are feeling weak, and dizzy, it is difficult to swallow and breathe, and on day five, you start to vomit. You my friend are having an adverse reaction to the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine.

On the Government of Canada website, it reminds visitors that the COVID-19 vaccines are available for emergency use in Canada, but they are still in the experimental stage. If you elect to participate in the human trials, it is critical that you report any adverse events or injuries so that the manufacturers and public may be aware of the risk of vaccine injuries.

The website also makes it clear that the benefits of vaccines authorized in Canada continue to outweigh the risks. Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the provinces and territories, and manufacturers continue to closely monitor the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. They promise to respond to any safety issues right away and will inform Canadians about any risks that arise in Canada.

The question now is how do you qualify your adverse reaction? Adverse events following vaccination include unwanted or unexpected health effects that happen after a vaccine is received. These health effects may or may not be caused by the vaccine and may or may not be permanent. What is important is that you report any adverse events or injuries so that the manufacturers and public may be aware of the risk of vaccine injuries.

An adverse event is any medical occurrence, which follows immunization. According to Health Canada, It isn’t necessarily causally related to the usage of the vaccine. The adverse event may be any:

• Unfavourable or unintended sign (for example: skin rash)
• Abnormal laboratory finding
• Symptom or
• Disease

There have been reported cases of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome following vaccination with AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD COVID-19 vaccine. PHAC and Health Canada are also monitoring international reports (World Health Organization, United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, European Medicines Agency, Israel) of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the lining around the heart) following vaccination with COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.

If you are unsure whether to report an adverse event or injury after receiving a COVID-19 shot, be proactive and report the event. Below are four different ways that you can report a reaction, and at the end of the article I have included the links for you.

If you experience an adverse event or injury following a COVID-19 shot, instruct your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist to complete the Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) and confirm that you will be provided a copy of their submitted report.

Vaccine recipients or their caregivers may also report adverse events and vaccine injuries to public health. We suggest you send by registered mail.

Another way is to report the adverse event and injury to the Canadian National Vaccine Safety Network (CANVAS).

Finally, you can report COVID-19 shot adverse events and injuries to VaxxTracker. VaxxTracker is independent from all government, pharmaceutical, or lobbying groups.

Do what you need to do to feel safe during this time, but do it safely, and trust what your body is telling you.

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Reported side effects following COVID-19 vaccination in Canada
https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid-19/vaccine-safety/#a2

Adverse events following immunization
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/immunization/reporting-adverse-events-following-immunization/form.html

 Canadian National Vaccine Safety Network
https://canvas-covid.ca/about-canvas/

VaxxTracker
https://vaxxtracker.com/